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California, New York top most expensive ZIP codes

COSTLY CRIBS: Sailboats are seen docked at the San Francisco Yacht Club in Belvedere, California in this file photo taken April 15, 2012. The area is among the most expensive in the nation in terms of cost of living. Photo: Reuters/REUTERS/Stephen Lam/Files

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Northern California’s Silicon Valley boasts the two priciest ZIP codes in the United States with median home prices of more than $5.4 million, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday.

Atherton’s 94027 ZIP code topped the list with house prices hovering at $6.7 million, followed by 94022 in Los Altos Hills, where homes are slightly less at around $5.4 million.

New York claimed five of the top 10 spots on the list, including Manhattan’s Upper East Side at No. 3, which dropped from first place last year, and the Long Island beach town of Sagaponack at No. 5.

California had four of the top 10 spots.

The only other state with a ZIP code on the list was New Jersey, with the city of Alpine, which slipped from second place in 2012 to No. 8 this year.

Forbes attributed the technology boom and an influx of wealthy foreign buyers from China and India, as well as American billionaires, for the increasing popularity of Atherton, which jumped from third place last year.

Its most expensive home for sale is listed at $33 million. Its cheapest, a two-bedroom bungalow, has an asking price of $1.2 million.

Colorado ski resort Aspen just missed the top 10, coming in 11th, followed by Coral Gables in Florida. Miami was far behind at No. 30 and Greenwich, Connecticut, came in at 34.

Forbes compiled the list with Altos Research, a California real estate data firm, after calculating median home prices in 22,000 U.S. ZIP codes, which are postal districts. Co-ops, which are popular in some of New York’s most expensive neighbors, were not included.